The Indians acquired six players during the offseason. Here are some midseason grades for those six players:
Scott Atchison: Largely overlooked, but he has had a terrific first half, going 3-0 with a 3.09 ERA, and his 0.914 WHIP is easily the best of any Tribe pitcher. Opposing batters are hitting .208 against him, and right-handed hitters .202 GRADE: A.
David Murphy: He has cooled off lately, hitting just .197 in June, but, overall, he has been pretty solid. He’s one of the Indians’ best clutch hitters, hitting .328 with runners in scoring position, and only Michael Brantley has more RBI than Murphy’s 38. GRADE: B.
Nyjer Morgan: He has missed a large chunk of the first half with a knee injury, but in the 15 games he has played, he was very impressive, hitting .341 with a .429 on-base percentage, and more walks (seven) than strikeouts (six). GRADE: B.
Josh Outman: Even though he’s pitching at Triple-A Columbus, he is still tied for second among Tribe pitchers in wins, with a record of 4-0 and a 3.28 ERA in 31 relief appearances before the Indians inexplicably designated him for assignment. GRADE: B.
George Kottaras: Carlos Santana’s concussion may have bought Kottaras a spot on the roster for the rest of the season. That .429 batting average, .526 on-base percentage and 1.071 slugging percentage in seven games hasn’t hurt either. GRADE: A.
John Axford: After a nice start — eight saves and a 2.53 ERA in 12 April appearances — he lost his closer’s role and has been very shaky ever since. Over his last 22 appearances, he has a 4.74 ERA and is averaging more than eight walks per nine innings. GRADE: D.
Remember me?
On his first trip to Texas since the Rangers traded him to Detroit for Prince Fielder, Ian Kinsler homered in his first at-bat. Following the trade, Kinsler ripped the Rangers and said he hoped they went 0-162. As he jogged down the first-base line after hitting his home run June 24, Kinsler waved derisively at the Texas dugout.
Rangers manager Ron Washington admitted not too long ago, Kinsler would have “worn it’’ for that act. Instead, the Rangers did nothing. Kinsler had 14 more plate appearances in the series and was not even buzzed with a high and tight pitch.
Pass the catchup
Since June 8, the Dodgers have gone 12-5 while the Giants have gone 4-12. By so doing, the Dodgers have gone from 9˝ games behind the NL West leading Giants to two games behind the Giants heading into June 28.
One and done
On June 24, Cardinals lefty reliever Randy Choate faced only one batter in an appearance for the seventh time this season. It’s the 209th time in Choate’s career he has pitched to just one batter in an appearance. The major-league record for most career one-batter appearances by a pitcher is 314 by Mike Myers.
Party pooper
Chase Headley of the Padres joined Gene Baker (Cubs) as the only major leaguers to break up two perfect games by being the lone baserunner in each. Baker spoiled Don Newcombe’s attempt in 1955 and Von McDaniel’s in 1957, while Headley was the only man on base in Jonathan Sanchez’s no-hitter for the Giants in 2009 and in Tim Lincecum’s gem June 25.
The trifecta
Yu Darvish, a likely All-Star selection, is scheduled to start for Texas on the day before the start of the All-Star break. Pitchers who do so aren’t eligible to pitch in the All-Star game, meaning Darvish has a chance this year to become the first player to make three consecutive All-Star teams without appearing in a game.
Freakball
In his no-hitter vs. the Padres on June 25, Lincecum threw 113 pitches: 41 fastballs, 38 changeups, 24 sliders and 10 curves. His fastest pitch (92 mph fastball) and slowest (72 mph curve) both came in the ninth inning.
Three spot
On June 21, the Brewers scored three runs on one wild pitch. Since 1960, the only other teams to do that are the White Sox (1969) and Dodgers (1983).
Adrian!
On June 24, Adrian Beltre became the sixth third baseman in history to reach 2,500 career hits. The others: George Brett (3,154), Wade Boggs (3,010), Brooks Robinson (2,848), Chipper Jones (2,726) and Buddy Bell (2,514).
Dead heat
Before their game June 23, the Reds and Cubs had played 2,089 games against each other since 1900, and the all-time series was dead even: 1,036 to 1,036, with 17 ties.
Careful!
Entering the weekend, only two teams had not had a pitcher who gave up a home run on an 0-2 pitch: The Cubs and Rangers.
The fewer the better
The White Sox are 23-17 when they play before crowds of 22,000 or fewer, but 13-27 in games when the attendance is more than 22,000.
Miggy and Vic
Victor Martinez has hit 20 home runs, and all 20 have come when the difference in the game was three runs or fewer. Miguel Cabrera has led the Tigers in home runs in each of the last six years, but he trails Martinez by seven homers this year.
Woe is them
The Rangers entered the weekend 35-43, the third-worst record in the American League, and only two games ahead of Houston. Last year, the Rangers finished 39˝ games ahead of the Astros.
“It’s hard to watch at times,’’ Texas GM Jon Daniels said. “It’s not for lack of effort. We get down early, and it’s a fight.’’
Injuries have been the biggest problem. The Rangers have made 20 disabled-list moves, most in the majors. The veterans have been lacking, too. Elvis Andrus and Alex Rios, who hit second and fifth, have combined for nine RBI in 187 at-bats during June. If any contender wants to talk about either of them, the Rangers would gladly listen.